Use Somebody
by E. Limberg
Summary: Castle tries to comfort Beckett when she and Josh break up, but it soon turns into her comforting him when Alexis is injured.  Contains spoilers for seasons two and three.  Song used is by Kings of Leon.  Takes place around April of season three.
1. Comforting

**Use Somebody**

**Chapter 1: Comforting**

_I've been roaming around_

_I was looking down at all I see_

_Painted faces fill the places I can't reach_

"I don't know, Castle," she leans against her desk next to him, their shoulders touching. "I just don't see it."

He turns his head towards her, his mouth open to reply, but freezes upon seeing someone approach them. "Your boyfriend's here," he nudges her.

Beckett frowns and turns to follow his gaze. "Hey, Josh. I thought I said I'd meet you at the restaurant," she smiles and walks over to him.

"You never showed up, Kate."

"What do you mean? It's only…" she checks her watch, and upon finding that it is eight o'clock, sighs. "Josh, I'm so sorry. We've been busy all day with this case, and I lost track of time."

"Save it, Kate. I've already heard it."

"Well we've hit a dead on this case so I'll just leave now, and we can still spend the evening together. We can get take out and go back to my place or your place and watch a movie or something."

"I don't think so," Josh says, frowning. "Three times in two weeks, Kate. I understand that your job is demanding, but can't you at least call? You always did before; what changed?"

"Nothing. I've just… had a lot on my mind with these cases, Josh."

He shakes his head, "I really like you, but I don't think this is going to work out."

Kate watches him walk away from her, trying to keep her composure. She stands there staring after him for a few moments, fully aware of Castle's gaze on her but unsure she could face him without breaking. When she finally turns around, she keeps her head down, her hair covering the blush of embarrassment on her cheeks and her eyes avoiding him.

"Go home, Castle," she says somewhat harshly as she walks by him. She didn't mean to sound so harsh, but she didn't want to break down in front of him. As she stares at the murder board, she tunes out his movement behind her; she knows that there is no way she could solve the murder tonight, but she doesn't want to leave until after he does.

Castle, who had been quite taken aback by her tone, doesn't say anything. He had realized shortly after meeting Josh that she was happy with him and had therefore laid back on his inappropriate comments. As he gathers his coat, he looks at her tense figure standing there, staring futilely at the board; he knows that despite her attempt to be indifferent about the break up, she is hurting inside. On impulse he grabs her coat from the back of her chair.

Slowly he comes up beside her, holding her coat out to her. "Kate," he whispers.

"I told you to go home, Castle."

"Do you want to grab a drink?" he asks quietly. He knows it won't be the same as going out for drinks with Lanie, but he hopes it will cheer her up a little.

She shakes her head, "No. And don't think that I don't know what you're trying to do."

"What is that?" he asks, frowning; for once he actually did not have an ulterior motive for wanting to spend time with her.

"You think that if we go out, you can get me drunk, and I'll end up in your bed," she snaps, finally looking at him.

"I know you think I'm shallow, Kate, and in many ways I am. But I would never take advantage of a drunk woman. And especially not you."

"Somehow I don't believe you."

"Okay. If you won't have drinks with me, go home. We both know that you're not going to catch any murderers tonight."

She keeps her eyes locked with his for a moment before accepting her coat. "Fine."

"And I promise not to tell the boys about this."

She nods, pulling her coat on, "Thanks, Castle."

"No problem. See you tomorrow, Detective."

She watches the elevator doors close behind him before gathering a few things from her desk and following him down.

**CB**

"Can you turn around?" Castle asks the cab driver. "I want to go somewhere else."

He sighs, "Where to now?" The author gives him Beckett's address, hoping that she wouldn't be too mad at him for showing up at her apartment. "You're paying for it."

When the cab pulls up outside her apartment, he pays the driver, leaving him a generous tip, and heads to one of the stores a little down the block, deciding that if he was going to show up at her apartment unannounced, he at least needed to bring her something. And since she wouldn't go out for drinks, he opts to bring the alcohol to her.

**CB**

Kate impatiently waits for the elevator, desperately needing to clear her mind. Finally the ding announces its arrival, and the doors open. "Castle?"

"Hey," he smiles, stepping off the elevator.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you. Obviously."

"You can't tell me that you don't have better things to do on a Friday night than pester me."

"… No." She raises an eyebrow. "Alexis had a date. Mother went out to the theater with her friend."

"And your ex-wife?"

"How should I know what she's doing?"

"Because you're sleeping with her."

"We broke up. Again. A couple weeks ago. I remembered why we got divorced."

"Well too bad. I have plans."

He takes in her attire, which consists of sweatpants, a light weight jacket, and tennis shoes. "You're going out like that?"

"Yeah. I'm going for a jog, Castle. So turn around and get back in the elevator and leave me alone."

"But I brought alcohol."

She sighs, "You constantly remind me that I'm the only woman in this city that won't sleep with you. So why don't you go find one of those other women and entertain yourself, Castle. I'm really not in the mood to deal with you."

"I'm not interested in other women, Kate." She looks away from him, hoping he really did not mean what he just said. "Please? I brought the alcohol to you," he holds up his bag from the store with a small smile.

"I need to clear my head."

"Okay. You go run, and I'll wait here for you."

"No, I do not want my neighbors to see you sitting outside my door."

"But I'm ruggedly handsome, remember?" he smiles again, which earns him an eye roll. "Okay. Then give me the key to your apartment."

"Do you really think I'm that stupid?" she glares at him.

"… No. But you don't want the neighbors to see me."

"I'm not letting you in my apartment all alone. You'll go through my stuff and snoop around for information for your books."

"Have you eaten anything?"

"No. But you're still not going in there."

"You go for your jog, and I'll get us food. We can't drink with empty stomachs."

"How very considerate of you," she rolls her eyes. "You're still not getting lucky."

"There's always hope," he smiles.

She smacks him in the chest as she presses the button for the elevator, "One hour, Castle."

"How many miles is that?" he asks as the elevator doors close.

She smirks, "I'd invite you to join me and find out, but you wouldn't last five minutes."

"I would totally take you up on that if I was not in my work clothes."

Beckett tries to ignore him as he stares at her, but it is rather annoying. "Castle," she glares at him. "That's creepy."

"Sorry," he mumbles, looking away from her.

**A/N: I hope you like this one. It's got ten more chapters. It's supposed to take place in about April of season three. I have to say I was a little disappointed with this week's episode. The scene at the strip club with the fire extinguisher was good, but I was totally waiting for him to get yelled at all episode for doing that. Never happened... Anyway, please review. I will try to update Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Thanks.**


	2. Arguing

**Chapter 2: Arguing**

_You know that I could use somebody_

_You know that I could use somebody_

Kate pulls the door open to let him in, "I actually thought you weren't coming back."

"Have I ever deserted you before?" he asks with a smile, but it disappears when he realizes that he had left her last summer. "I didn't know what you would feel like so I stopped at a few different places. Chinese, Italian, hot dogs… I even stopped and got a container of ice cream."

"Ice cream?" she raises an eye brow.

"Yeah… most women like to eat ice cream when they break up with their boyfriends. But I guess you're not exactly most women."

She doesn't comment as she takes the bags of food from him and heads to the kitchen. While she makes plates for them, he pours her a glass of wine. As she hands him one of the plates, she notices he only poured one glass. "Where's yours?" she asks with a frown.

"I thought I'd let you have the whole bottle."

She looks away from him, "After my mom died, my dad became an alcoholic. I… don't really drink that much, not more than a glass or two. So… go ahead."

He looks at her thoughtfully, realizing that he never really had seen her have more than a glass or two of wine. But he mostly saw her at work so she wasn't really drinking. He gets out a second glass for himself. "I didn't realize that."

"So page one hundred and five probably wouldn't happen," she gives him a small smile before heading to the living room with her plate.

He follows her, and they settle down on the couch to eat. "So how was your jog?"

"Okay."

"How far did you end up going?"

"Three miles. I decided I should probably shower before you got back."

"Oh, I wouldn't have minded if you showered while I was here," he grins; the innuendos had come back, partially because she was now single and partially because he hoped it would cheer her up a little.

"Wish all you want, Castle," she rolls her eyes.

"You… really seemed to like Josh," he says quietly, not wanting to pressure her into talking about him.

She hesitates before answering, "… Yeah."

"How long… have you two been together?"

"Seven months. We met… right before you came back."

"Kate, if you really like him you should call him. Don't just give it up because of one problem."

She studies him, surprised by his use of her first name. "I don't know, Castle. We've had a few disagreements over the last month. And… it just seems weird to take relationship advice from someone who's been divorced twice," she tries to tease him.

"Those failed relationships weren't entirely my fault."

"Okay, deep-fried-Twinkie cheated on you. How'd the other one end? Obviously not too badly if you were back together."

"We just… grew apart. And the whole marrying your publisher thing isn't a good idea. More punishment for not meeting deadlines, more hassling to meet the deadlines. It just… wasn't good. And she had expensive tastes."

"And why did you get back together?" she asks quietly, not sure she wants to know the answer.

Rick shrugs, "I didn't want to go to the Hamptons alone. She wanted me to finish the book. When we talked on the phone, it was like the first time we met. All our differences were forgotten." He looks over at her and notices the pain etched on her face, more pain than he had seen early when Josh had broken up with her. "Kate?" he says quietly, not sure what was wrong.

"I'm fine," she takes a sip of wine, her green eyes refusing to look at him.

"Kate?" he repeats. After a few moments, she brings her eyes up to his. "That day when I left for the Hamptons last summer you wanted to say something to me. I… don't think you ever got around to saying it."

"It doesn't matter, Castle. That day was almost a year ago. I don't remember what it was."

"You're not a very good liar, Detective."

"Forget it, Castle. It… won't happen – can't happen."

"You broke up with Demming before I left, Kate. What were you going to say to me?"

"I think you need to leave, Castle," she stands up, gesturing to the door.

"Fine, I'll let it go. What would you like to talk about?"

"Nothing. Now go."

"Why won't you tell me, Kate?"

"Because… things have changed since then. What I was going to say doesn't matter."

He sighs as he stands to go, "I guess I really messed things up."

"Yes, you did."

"Can't we just… talk about what happened?"

"What good would that do? We'll just get angry with each other."

"Aren't we already? Or at least you are."

"Just… go home, Castle. I'll see you Monday."

"Kate, why are you shutting me out? Ever since I got back you've been keeping me an arm's length away."

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you left," she says quietly, her eyes avoiding him again.

"I thought you'd appreciate me giving you space."

"You didn't call. Or email. Or text. Or anything. It was like you didn't care anymore."

"Of course I cared."

"You have a funny way of showing it, Castle."

Rick sighs, trying to decide how to make things up to her. "Well I'm back now. I have been for six months. And you still haven't exactly let me in again."

She crosses her arms over her chest, "Because I'm not sure I can trust you."

"What do you mean you don't trust me? You've given me your back up weapon twice now, Kate. I think that takes some trust."

"I did that to protect you, Castle. Alexis would have killed me if something had happened to you."

"But you keeping your distance from me doesn't protect me," he protests.

"It protects me," she whispers, then bites her lips and closes her eyes. "Please, Castle. Just drop it and leave."

"Okay," he heads to the door, not looking back at her. "If you really want me gone, I'll go."

"I don't want you to go forever."

"I don't want you to push me away forever," he replies before shutting the door behind himself.

Kate sits down on the couch, closing her eyes to keep the tears in. First Josh and now Castle. Apparently all the men in her life were leaving her. She downs the rest of the wine in her glass, hoping it would numb her.

When her phone rings a few minutes later, she is reluctant to look at it; she really hopes it isn't Castle because she most definitely did not want to talk to him again. However, she can't just ignore it because it could be work. Finally she looks at the display; the number is unknown, which meant it probably was work. At least it would take her mind off of the terrible evening that she had had.

"Beckett," she answers.

"Detective Beckett?" a quiet voice asks.

"Yes," Kate says slowly.

"It's Alexis Castle."

"Oh… hi, Alexis. Are you looking for your dad? He just left like five minutes ago."

"Actually I was wondering if I could talk to you."

"Sure," she says slowly, deciding that she didn't have to punish the younger Castle, who she barely knew, because of what her father had done.

"Do you… want to meet somewhere? Or I can come over to your place? I'm not that far away."

Kate looks toward her kitchen, remembering the ice cream that Castle had brought over and deciding that it sounded good after the past few hours. "Why don't you come over here? Your dad brought ice cream so we can make sundaes."

"That sounds great. Dad… isn't still there, is he?"

"He's gone," she assures her.

"Okay. I'll see you in about ten minutes," the teenager hangs up.

As she sets her phone down, Kate wonders what the teenager could want to talk to her about.

**A/N: More Alexis and Kate to come next chapter. Then back to Castle in the following chapter. Hope you enjoyed this one. Hopefully I'll get a chance to write later tonight while I do laundry. I don't really have much to do right now... even though exams are next week. Please keep reviewing.**


	3. Talking

**Chapter 3: Talking**

_Someone like you and all you know and how you speak_

_Countless lovers under cover of the street_

Kate opens the door to let her in and before she can greet her, the teenager is talking. "I'm so sorry for bothering you, but I really need to talk to someone. And Dad just… well, I can't talk to him about this. And Gram's a little old to understand how things are today, and Mom… well, Dad is right when he calls her crazy. So I thought of you and… I really hope I'm not imposing."

"It's okay, Alexis," Kate quickly assures the girl before she can start rambling again. "I understand your situation."

"I'd ask my friends for advice, but I don't really know if they'd be able to give any. I don't know you that well, but Dad is always talking about you so I thought… that maybe you could help me."

"I can try," she steps aside to let Alexis in.

"And you won't tell Dad about this."

"No. I mean, not unless you're going to do something really stupid and put yourself in danger. But I don't really think that's you after everything your dad has said about you."

"Well… I don't exactly know where to start."

"With ice cream?" Kate offers with a small smile.

"Sure," Alexis returns the smile. "Did you say Dad brought the ice cream?"

"Yeah… he brought over tons of food."

"Why was Dad here? You're not in danger, are you? The last time he was at your apartment, that crazy guy was trying to kill you."

"No, I'm not in danger. He was just… concerned, I guess you could say," she hesitates before deciding to tell the teenager why he was concerned. "My boyfriend and I… broke up."

"Oh… I'm sorry."

"It was my fault."

"That doesn't make it easier. Especially if you liked him. And… I know I don't know you very well, but I don't think you'd go out with someone you didn't like."

Kate hands her a bowl with a mischievous smile, "Well… not now. But I went out with quite a few guys in high school that I didn't really like. That was more to get back at my parents."

Alexis frowns, "I can't see that."

"Well I did. Then I went to college. Went out with the same guy for a year and a half. He was more acceptable that the others but… my parents still weren't fond of him. We broke up a week before my mother was killed."

The red-head pushed the container of ice cream toward the detective, "I think this definitely calls for lots of ice cream."

"Yeah, it's been a terrible day."

"Bad case?"

"Not really. More… frustrating. I feel like the answer is right in front of us, but we're not seeing it. And then Josh… and your father…"

"What did he do this time? Please tell he didn't come over here to try to get you in bed right after you broke up with your boyfriend."

The detective stops dishing the ice cream to stare in shock at the teenager. "Did you…"

"I'm seventeen, Detective Beckett. I know my dad thinks I'm still his little girl but I'm not as innocent as he leads you to believe. Plus I've read all of his books."

"Well, I don't think that was his primary reason for coming over here."

"Then what did he do?"

"He was trying to… bring up something that happened last summer, and I don't want to deal with it right now. Or ever."

"Oh… when he left you?"

Kate nods slowly, "Yeah."

"He messed things up big time."

"Yes, he did."

"I don't know why he took Gina with him. I don't know why he ever thought they could be together again. The fighting was worse this time than it was before they were divorced."

"I don't understand him either."

"Detective Beckett?"

"Yes."

"We don't have to talk about this if you don't want to. I didn't come over here to pry like Dad always does."

Kate smiles, thankful the teenager understood. She leads her to the couch, where they both sit down with their sundaes. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Well… tomorrow is my and Ashley's six month anniversary. I wanted to make it special, but… I don't really know how."

"Okay…"

"I mean, I know you're an adult so what you do on your six month anniversary with your boyfriend is totally different but… maybe you have an idea."

"To be completely honest with you, I don't think I ever made it to six months with any of the guys I dated in high school because even though I was trying to get back at my parents, I couldn't put up with them for that long."

"I can understand that. There are tons of guys in school that are jerks."

"And Ashley's different?"

"Yes. At least I think so."

"So what are you guys doing?"

"We're going to see that new romance movie that came out last week. And then we're going to a fancy restaurant. Well, you probably wouldn't consider it fancy but it's fancy for us considering our budget. And then I don't know what we're doing."

"Josh and I both had to work on our anniversary so we celebrated a couple days later. We went to a really nice restaurant for dinner. We went back to his place, and I think we watched a movie. I don't really remember; I think a fell asleep."

"You don't have to make things up. I know what couples do to celebrate." Kate doesn't respond, and they both eat their ice cream in silence. Alexis breaks it eventually. "What do I do?" she asks quietly.

"What do you do when?" she asks, confused.

"What if he isn't the guy I thought he was? What if he's not different? What if he expects… that tomorrow night?"

"All teenage boys think about that all the time, Alexis. And it doesn't get better when they get older. Just ask your father. But… if he really does care about you, he won't force you to do anything. He'll wait until you're ready. If the issue comes up, and I don't think it will, just tell him you're not ready. If he doesn't understand that, leave him."

"Okay," she sighs. "I feel a little better. Thank you."

"No problem. If you ever need to talk, I'll listen."

"I should probably head home," Alexis checks her watch. "Shoot. My curfew was eleven-thirty. I'm surprised Dad hasn't called yet to see where I am."

Kate checks her phone and sees that it is almost midnight. "I'll text him and tell him you were here and not to get mad at you. And then I'll drive you home. I'm sure your father would kill me if I let you go home by yourself at this hour."

"It's okay, Detective Beckett. I'll just get a cab. Besides, if you and Dad are arguing, I don't want you to have to face him until you want to."

"No, it's not a problem. I just… don't want anything to happen to you."

"I'll be fine."

The detective sighs, "How about you stay here for tonight? Unless you have plans."

"Not until the afternoon. And I assume you're going to work tomorrow so I'll just leave when you do."

"I can drop you off on the way to the precinct. I probably won't go in until mid-morning though."

"That's fine. I mean as long as you don't have a problem with it. I really didn't mean to impose when I came over."

"It's fine," she assures the teenager. She quickly types a message to Castle to let him know that Alexis was with her before turning back to his daughter. "Do you want something more comfortable to sleep in?"

"It doesn't really matter to me."

Kate goes to her bedroom and brings back a t-shirt, sweatpants, and some blankets. "You can sleep in my bed."

"No, the couch is fine with me. I don't want to intrude."

"Okay. I'll see you in the morning."

**A/N: I'm extemely bored... I don't feel like studying. Plus my head hurts and studying with a headache doesn't sound fun. Maybe I'll try to write. But I think I've hit a dead end in my story right now. Have to think of more ideas... Anyway, please keep reviewing. I'll try to update either Monday or Tuesday if I'm not too busy with finals and reading Harry Potter or Naked Heat. My mom is supposed to be bringing both when she comes to visit tomorrow. Probably not the best idea right before finals, but I know I'm really not going to study for chemistry, which is my last one so...**


	4. Whining

**Chapter 4: Whining**

_You know that I could use somebody_

_You know that I could use somebody_

_Someone like you_

Kate is busy in the kitchen when Alexis walks in. "Good morning."

"Hey," the detective says. "I made you breakfast."

"You really didn't have to go to so much trouble. I know you're not really a breakfast person. Dad always talks about how he doesn't know how you'd get by without him getting your coffee and bear claw every morning."

"Well despite what he thinks, I do know how to take care of myself."

She smiles, "Yes, I'm sure you got along fine before Dad started to follow you."

"Yes… but it is nice not to have to fill my own coffee cup all day long. Of course I'm sure I drink twice as much coffee now as I did before he showed up."

"At least it keeps him from annoying you."

Kate sets a plate on the table for Alexis, "Not really. He still finds plenty of time to do that. But at least he has a purpose at the precinct. Besides providing abstract theories that never amount to anything."

"He does have a pretty wild imagination," she agrees.

"You drink coffee?" she asks as she pours herself another cup.

"No. Dad says I'm too young."

As she sits down, she decides to turn the subject away from Castle, "So have you thought about college yet?"

"Well, I liked Princeton. But I'm really not sure what I want to study."

"You still have a year to figure it out. Plus you can change your major as many times as you want."

"Did you change your major?"

"Yeah. I was an English major before my mother passed away. I wanted to become a professor like she was. And then… I changed that to a minor and became a criminal justice major so I could become a detective. I couldn't enter the academy right away after she died so I decided to go ahead and finish college."

"So do you like… analyze all of Dad's books?" Of course the conversation had to lead back to Castle.

"God no. Especially not the Nikki Heat ones. I don't even want to know what he was thinking when he wrote those."

"Well he is a guy, so therefore he only thinks about one thing…"

"Obviously from what he writes. I have no idea how he came up with those scenes. I swear I never did anything to make of him think of me like that."

"I'm pretty sure he's thinking about you like ninety percent of the time. And since he has such a wild imagination, I'm sure he has many fantasies about you. Especially while he's trying to write. He never seems to get much done whenever he sits down to write."

"Are you going away from the Hamptons again this summer so he can write?"

"Um… I'm not sure. We'll probably go for Memorial Day and Fourth of July, but apparently getting away from you really didn't help his writing last summer so I don't think we'll be gone the whole summer. Maybe you should come with us this time. Dad surely won't mind having you around. And it won't be so awkward since I'll be there too."

"I don't know, Alexis. It's probably not such a good idea. Especially since we aren't exactly getting along at the moment."

"Well you still have a month before we leave. Maybe you two will make up by then." Kate doesn't say anything so Alexis continues talking. "So I don't really know what to do for college. I know Dad is going to be devastated when I leave. I don't really want to leave him all alone, but I kind of want to get out of New York."

"Princeton isn't that far."

"I know. But I wanted to look at other places too. Like Stanford. That might be cool. Except I'll be across the country from Dad and close to Mom. And I really don't want her to be visiting me all the time. The two times I see her a year is plenty of time together."

She smiles at the red-head. "Your father will be happy with whatever you choose. He just wants you to enjoy college. But not too much."

"I know. I really hope he doesn't annoy you too much when I'm gone."

"If he gets too annoying, I'll just threaten him. Surprisingly after three years he still gets scared when I tell him that I'm going to shoot him if he doesn't listen to me."

"But he still doesn't listen."

"At crime scenes, no. But if I threaten him when he's being annoying, he generally shuts up."

"Well, thank you so much for breakfast, Detective Beckett. And for letting me stay here last night. I probably need to head home. Dad is probably dying to know what I was doing here in the first place."

"It's not a problem. I'll drop you off on my way in to work."

**CB**

Kate knocks on the door, and moments later it opens. Castle is on the other side. "Beckett… what are you doing here?"

"You're daughter dropped her wallet in my car. I thought she might need it so I came up to give it to her before I left."

"Oh… well thanks. I'll give it to her. She just headed upstairs to change into some fresh clothes."

"Okay."

"You're going in to work?"

"Yeah. Cases to break, murderers to catch…"

"Right. I could come in if you wanted me to."

"No, it's okay, Castle. You spend the afternoon with your daughter before her big date. I can manage without you for the day."

"She told you about her big date?"

"Yeah."

"Is that why she went over there to talk to you?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Come on, Beckett. Please."

"Sorry. I swore that I wouldn't tell."

"Please tell she's not planning on sleeping with him?"

She shakes her head, "I really can't tell you anything. But I will say that she did not get her brains from you."

"Beckett," he whines.

"Seriously, Castle, that's annoying. Stop."

"Fine. Since you came all the way over here, is there anything you want to talk to me about?"

She pretends to think about it, "Nope."

"Come on, Kate. We have to talk about it sometime."

"No, we don't. I like things the way they are. We don't have to change them."

"But things could be so much better."

"How likely do you think it is that things would actually work out between us, Castle?"

"I don't know. I think we have a pretty good chance."

"I'm not willing to take the risk."

Rick sighs, "Why not?"

"Because," she says stubbornly. "I have work to do. I don't have time for this."

Before he can protest and tell her that's not an answer, she is already to the elevator. With another deep sigh, he closes the door, wondering how on earth he could make this up to her.

Alexis comes down the stairs, "I guess you have to work a little harder to be forgiven this time, Dad."

"I don't know. She may never forgive me for last summer."

"I think she will…" she kisses his cheek. "It'll just take a lot of begging on your part. Maybe a life or death situation. I'm sure you could pay someone to attack you if you're really that desperate. Make her think you're dying… and then she admits that she loves you."

"I don't know. I'm not sure she does anymore."

"If she didn't, she wouldn't have let anywhere near her again. And since you're still following her for 'research'," she makes air quotes, "you've got a pretty good chance that she still cares about you."

"Did you talk about this with her?"

"Not really. But we did talk about you a lot."

"Really? What'd she say?"

"I can't tell you."

"What is with you women and your secrecy?" he shakes his head in frustration.

"Sorry, Dad."

"Please? Didn't she say anything that could help me win her back?" he now begs his daughter. She shakes her head and shrugs as she walks away from him.

**A/N: So sorry, guys. I forgot to update until just now after finishing another story. I've got to one chapter things done now, plus the rest of this one, so we should be good until Christmas. Exams are going pretty well. Just had Western Civ... so glad that class is over and hopefully I did well enough on it to get an A. I was excited because I got a nine-ty seven on my paper for that class, and then he hands it back and all he wrote was well done. So why did I get three points off? Anyway... two exams left: my pharmacy introduction class and chemistry. They shouldn't be too bad. And then I get to go home. It feels like I've been here longer than thirteen weeks, but at the same time it feels like it's gone by kind of quickly. Well, off to study. Or read more Harry Potter. Oh, I finally got Naked Heat and finished it. Pretty good. Some surprises in there that I'm kind of surprised they haven't mention on the show... like Rook's other job. Anway, I will try to update again Friday if I get lots of reviews from you guys. And Kate will come to her senses about Castle very shortly.**


	5. Worrying

**Chapter 5: Worrying**

_Off in the night while you live it up I'm off to sleep_

_Waging wars to shake the poet and the beat_

Castle steps off the elevator and heads to Beckett's desk. She is busy doing paperwork so he quietly sits down in his chair and waits for her to notice him. When she finishes her report, she looks up at him, kind of surprised to see him there. "Hey," she says quietly.

"Hi. You solved the case without me?"

"Yes."

"Hm… I guess I'm not as important as I thought."

"No, I can still do my job without you around."

"Too bad because it's a three book deal. And the fans really seem to like Nikki so… I'll probably be around even longer."

"I think you have more than enough information to keep writing after that. You don't need to keep following me around."

"Yes, I have enough information, but I won't be inspired without hanging around here with you."

She rolls her eyes, "So what do you want, Castle?"

"Would you like the detailed version with vivid descriptions or just the summary?"

Kate glares at him. "Why did you come here?" she amends.

"I want to take you to dinner." She doesn't stop glaring at him. "Not as a date. Just… dinner between friends. I think we need to talk."

"What if I don't want to talk?"

"Kate," he sighs. "Why do you have to make things so difficult?"

"This isn't my fault, Castle. You're the one who walked away."

"Can you please give me a second chance?"

"No. I've already given you a second chance."

"Please, Kate. I know this is hard for you, but please just give me another chance to make things up to you."

Her reply is cut off by his phone ringing. He looks at her expectantly, ignoring his phone. "I think you should get that."

His gaze lingers on her as he pulls the phone from his pocket and answers it. "Castle."

She turns away to give him privacy while he talks, trying to return to her paperwork and come up with an excuse not to have dinner with him.

"What?" he practically shouts into the phone in surprise. Beckett looks at him with a frown. "I'll be right there," he says before hanging up. He is practically to the elevator before her brain processes the fact that he has moved.

"Castle?" she grabs her jacket from the back of her chair and jogs to catch up with him. "What's wrong?" she asks as they get in the elevator.

"Alexis was shot."

"What?"

"I don't know. She's in surgery now. The nurse said she wasn't sure how serious it was."

Kate rests her hand on his arm, "She's going to be okay, Rick. She's strong."

"I hope so," he whispers.

When the elevator doors open, they race to her car. She puts the sirens on and pulls out into traffic.

He looks over at her, "You can do that?"

"No… But what the captain doesn't know won't hurt him. And I'm sure he'd forgive me under the circumstances."

**CB**

"Mr. Castle," Ashley jogs over to them, blood staining his shirt, when they enter the waiting room. "I'm so sorry. I should have protected her. I should have had more money on me. If I had, maybe he wouldn't have shot her."

"How is she?" Castle asks.

"I don't really know. They wouldn't tell me much. She's in surgery now. They said they would contact you."

While Castle goes up to the nurse's station, Kate calls his mother to inform her of the situation. When he comes back, he sinks into the plastic hospital chair next to her. "They don't know much. They said someone should be out shortly to give us more details."

She offers him her hand, and he takes it. She squeezes, trying to give him some reassurance that things would work out. "I called Martha. She's on her way."

"Thanks."

"Ashley, can you tell us what happened?" Kate asks.

"After the movie ended, we were going to dinner. We decided to take a short cut through one of the allies. A guy came out from behind one of the dumpsters. He had a gun, and he was pointing it at her. He wanted my money so I gave him everything in my wallet. I think it was around seventy dollars. But I guess it wasn't enough for him because he shot her anyway. I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't your fault, Ashley," Castle says quietly. "As much as I want to blame you and you want to blame yourself, you're not the one who pulled the trigger."

"Where did the bullet hit her?"

"On the left side of her body, just below the ribs. I… tried to stop the bleeding but I panicked. I didn't know what to do."

"Have you called your parents?"

"No."

"It'd probably be best for you to let them know what's going on, to let them know that you're okay."

He nods and pulls out his phone before standing and walking a short distance away from them.

"Kate?"

"Yes."

"I want you on this case. I know you're a homicide detective, and I hope to God this doesn't become a homicide case, but I want you to find this guy."

"Okay, Castle. You make the calls, and I'll find him."

"Thank you."

"But you're going to have to stay away from the precinct until we find him. I can't have you interfering with the case."

"Whatever you need me to do so that you get him and put him behind bars."

Martha approaches them, "How is she?"

"We don't know yet," Castle stands to hug his mother, releasing Kate's hand.

Kate also stands and hugs Martha. "It's nice to see you again, but I wish it was under better circumstances."

"You too, dear. You'll catch the guy that did this to her?"

She looks from Martha to Rick before nodding, "Yes."

A doctor approaches them, "You're here for Alexis Castle?"

"Yes," Rick replies anxiously.

"She lost a lot of blood. The bullet didn't hit any major organs, but it did make a small tear in her intestine, which we're stitching up now. We think she's going to need a blood transfusion. According to our records she is type O," he looks at Castle for confirmation. "We are currently out of type O blood, but we can have some sent over from another hospital. The sooner she gets the transfusion, the better off she'll be. So if any of you have type O blood… and direct relatives are better than unrelated people."

"Type A," Castle mutters.

"A," Martha also says.

"I hate needles," Kate sighs, "but I'm type O. I'm not a relative, but it's better than nothing."

Rick looks at her pleadingly, "Please, Kate."

"I'll do it."

"I'll get a nurse to take you back and draw blood," the doctor says before walking away.

He pulls out his wallet, "Mother, get her something to eat. I'm sure she hasn't eaten all day, and I don't want her to pass out after they take her blood." She accepts some money from him before walking off in search of the cafeteria.

Kate looks at him, "Why can't you go get me food?"

"Because I'm going back there with you."

"Castle, you really should stay out here and keep Ashley company."

"I'm going with you."

A nurse approaches them, "I can take you back now." She doesn't say anything when Castle follows them back into the ER.

Kate removes her jacket and hands it to Castle before sitting on the examination table.

"You're right handed?" the nurse asks, and Kate nods. She rolls up her left sleeve and applies a tourniquet. Then she examines the veins in the detective's arm before choosing one and sterilizing the area.

When she uncaps the needle, Kate looks away. Castle gives her a reassuring smile, placing his hand on top of hers. "I don't know how you can be so afraid of needles, Detective. I mean, you have no problem going around facing people with guns that could kill you," he says, trying to distract her as the nurse inserts the needle.

"Needles kill people too, Castle." She looks down at her arm, and he watched her eyes widen at the sight of the blood coming out of her arm.

"How long have you been a detective?"

"Four years."

"And you've been to too many crime scenes to count in that time. Crime scenes with lots of blood. I've been following you for more than two years, and I've never seen you flinch at the sight of blood."

"Because it isn't my blood."

"You've been a police officer for…?"

"Eight years."

"And in that time you've never been injured on the job?"

"Twice."

"Twice?" he asks, his expression falling once again.

She nods, "I was knifed my first year on the job. Royce… saved my life in more ways than one. And then I was shot about six months before we met."

The nurse pulls the needle out, pressing a cotton ball to the place where the needle had been. "If you hold that, I will get this to the doctors."

Kate holds the cotton ball to her arm, letting the nurse leave. Castle squeezes her hand, "You okay?"

"Yeah… just a little dizzy."

"We'll get you some food while we wait and then you'll feel better."

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. And for those of you that are concerned about Alexis and Kate's negative conversations about Castle, they didn't exactly mean to be harsh. It was more Alexis understanding that her father can be annoying at times and accepting this; she knows that he's made some bad decisions and caused Kate pain, and she hopes that talking about it will make them both see what they are missing out on. And Castle isn't all to blame for what happened; Beckett will try to take some of the responsibility for their failure over the summer. Anyway, I shall try to update again before I go back to school Sunday. Thanks for reading.**


	6. Reassuring

**Chapter 6: Reassuring**

_I hope it's gonna make you notice_

_I hope it's gonna make you notice_

"Thanks for this, guys," Kate yawns into her phone. "Get some rest; I'll be there later on to help you."

"No problem, Beckett. And if Castle needs you, we can handle this for now. We can find this guy for you, and then you can rip him apart in interrogation," Esposito informs her.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll be by later. She's going to be at the hospital until at least tomorrow morning, and there's no use in me staying here when she can only have a couple visitors at a time. Castle and Martha should be the ones in there with her."

"Alright, boss. Get some rest before you come in."

"I will," she hangs up her cell phone.

Castle comes out and sits beside her while Martha goes in the recovery room. "Ryan and Esposito?"

"Yeah. They sent Ashley and his parents home, and they're running the sketch through our databases now. Hopefully something pops. If not, maybe Alexis would be willing to work with the artist."

"Probably. She was asking for you. I told her Gram was going to come before you because you're more patient than Gram is."

"She's okay?"

"A little loopy from the drugs. But I think she'll be okay."

Kate nods, "You need some rest, Castle. She's stable now. You really should go home. Come back during visitor hours when the nurses won't get so mad at you and stay with her."

"I don't want to leave her alone."

"They won't let you stay in the room with her, Castle. She'll be fine. The nurses will know if something changes, and she needs their attention. They're going to drug her back up soon so that she doesn't feel the pain."

Martha exits the room, "Kate, she really wants to talk to you."

The detective slowly stands and enters the recovery room, "Hey, Alexis. You feel okay?"

"I guess I feel as good as I can after getting shot," Alexis's eyelids are drooping. "I wanted to thank you… for saving me. Dad said that you gave blood for me."

"Yeah, but it was no big deal."

"He said you don't like needles."

"No, not really."

"Well… thanks."

Kate smiles, "Anytime."

"Hopefully not too soon though or you'll be the one needing the transfusion." Alexis closes her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again. "Detective Beckett?"

"Yes?"

"Take care of Dad tonight for me. I know he's worried, but he needs to rest. And I'm going to be fine."

"I'll try."

"I was so worried about Ashley expecting one thing tonight, but I guess I should have been more worried about being shot."

"There are a lot of crazy people out there," she replies.

"I'm just gonna rest my eyes for a moment," the teenager's eyes close again and remain closed this time as she falls into unconsciousness from the painkillers that they had given her.

Kate rests her hand on Alexis's for a few moments before quietly leaving the room.

Castle stands, "I'm going to take you home and then try to get some rest. Mother's going to stay with her tonight."

Martha stands to hug Kate before they leave. "Thank you," she whispers.

**CB**

The cab pulls up outside of her apartment building. "I'll see you later, Castle," she says as she gets out of the cab.

"Thanks, Kate."

She gives him a small reassuring smile before closing the door and heading inside. Once inside she heads straight to her bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes for sleep, ready to let exhaustion take over her body. She no sooner gets changed into her pajamas before there is a knock on the door.

Upon opening the door, she finds Castle standing on the other side, somehow looking more miserable now than he had when he first learned that his daughter had been shot.

"I can't do it. I can't be alone tonight, Kate."

Timidly she wraps her arms around his waist, pulling him into a hug. He puts his arms around her, clinging to her for strength. "It's okay, Rick," she whispers. Moments later she realizes he is trembling, and the shoulder of her shirt becomes damp.

They stand there just inside her door for a few minutes, her holding him, until he pulls back slightly. "Sorry," he says quietly.

Kate smiles reassuringly at him, letting him know that it was no problem. She grabs his hand and tugs, pulling him to her bedroom. Gently she pushes on his shoulders to get him to sit on the edge of her bed. He looks at her questioningly when she tries to remove his jacket but complies, helping her get it off. While she sets it on the back of one of her chairs, he removes his shoes.

When she turns back, Castle has made himself comfortable under the covers in the center of the bed. She rolls her eyes at him before also climbing under the covers. Hoping that sleeping with her was the last thing on his mind with his daughter in the hospital, she scoots closer to him, curling up at his side with her head on his chest. He puts his arms around her, still clinging to her, and she decides that, given the circumstances, she could allow herself to be his teddy bear for the night.

They lay silently like that for a while, and Kate thinks he has finally fallen asleep but doesn't dare move to check for fear of waking him. "Kate?" he whispers, and her thought fades away.

"Yes?"

"Thank you." She doesn't reply, and when he doesn't speak again after a few minutes, she once more thinks he has fallen asleep. Eventually his voice breaks the silence for a second time. "I never thought it would be her. Every time that I've imagined someone I care about getting hurt, it's always been you."

"I'm not going anywhere, Castle."

"How do you know that, Kate? How do you know that you're not going to get shot tomorrow when you go after this guy? How do you know that something won't happen by the end of the year? You can't make promises like that, Kate."

"I… don't know. Not for sure. But I trust Ryan and Esposito. And… I have you looking out for me."

"I have saved your life quite a few times, haven't I?" he muses allowed.

"… Yes."

"I hope you're right, Kate. Because losing you would be just as bad as losing my daughter."

This time she remains silent for a few minutes, contemplating what she should say. Sure, he's always implied that he wants to be with her, but it's never seemed to be in more than just the physical way. But now he had practically admitted how much she meant to him. "I… I was going to tell you that… I wanted to go with you… to the Hamptons… last summer. Before Gina showed up."

"You were?" he asks, sitting up so that he can see her face.

"Yes. I… wanted to give us a try."

"Kate, I… I'm so sorry. I'm such an idiot."

"Yes," she gives him a small smile. "Yes, you can be."

"Would you ever… consider giving me a second chance? Or third chance? Or whatever number I'm on right now?"

"Yes," she whispers. "But not until Alexis is better."

"Okay," he agrees, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. "Thank you."

They both lay back down and quickly fall into a deep sleep in each other's arms.

**A/N: There was so much I wanted to get done while I was home. And I'm pretty sure none of it happened. However, I am almost done with another story, I think. So I think that'll be three done after this one. Of course they're all only one chapter... but they're longer than my normal chapters because of that. Have to get some more ideas for multi-chapters fics. Actually I kind of have one, but with the start of the new quarter and trying to reread Harry Potter, I don't know how much writing I'll get done before the new year. Anyway, hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. I'll update Tuesday hopefully.**


	7. Trusting

**Chapter 7: Trusting**

_Someone like me_

_Someone like me_

_Someone like me_

_Somebody_

When Castle wakes up the next morning, she is gone. He looks around for a moment, trying to remember where he is. Then it dawns on him: Alexis was in the hospital, and he had spent the night with Kate. And she had agreed to give a relationship with him a try.

Upon this realization, he jumps out of bed to find her, hoping that she hadn't left because she had changed her mind. He smiles to himself when he sees her in the kitchen making breakfast. "Hey," he says quietly, not wanting to startle her.

"Hi," she smiles softly at him over her shoulder.

"You're cooking?"

"Yes. I do know how to cook, Castle."

"But… you actually have food in your apartment?"

"Yes. If you don't trust my cooking, you can always have ice cream for breakfast," she nods toward the freezer. "Alexis and I didn't eat it all the other day."

"No thanks. Ice cream isn't that appealing early in the morning."

She hands him a plate with an omelet and toast before grabbing her own and joining him at the table. Their coffee is already waiting. "So how did you sleep?"

"Pretty well considering I didn't think I would be sleeping at all."

"Good. So I assume you're going to spend the whole day at the hospital?"

"Yeah, I'm going to stop by the loft and take a quick shower before heading back over there. You?"

"Going in to work to help the boys find this guy. I'll try to stop by later and see Alexis."

"Did you… mean what you said last night, Kate?"

"Yes."

"You really want to give this a try?"

"Yes."

"You're sure?"

"No," she meets his gaze. "But I'm going to anyway."

"Kate, if you really don't want this, you don't have to do it for my sake. I'll get over it."

Kate studies him for a moment, "Somehow I don't think you will. And I do want to do this, Rick. I like you. But this is just a huge step, and it's going to take some getting used to."

"I understand. I'll be patient."

"Somehow I doubt that one too."

"I've been following you around for three years waiting for this, Kate. I've learned how to be patient."

She watches him for a moment before turning away. Seconds later her phone rings, "Beckett."

"I got a hit off the bullet. Ryan and Esposito are going to stop by and pick you up on the way there," Lanie informs her. "You are at home, right?"

"Yes."

"You didn't stay with Castle last night to comfort him?"

"He stayed here… not that it's any of your business. And there was no comforting involved, at least not in the way you're thinking of it."

"I'm gonna be mad at you if I find out you're lying to me."

"Lanie, nothing happened," she sighs. "I've got to go."

Castle takes her plate to the sink for her as she hangs up, "They got something?"

"Yeah, a hit on ballistics. They're going to pick me up on the way."

"I should probably leave then. It's bad enough Lanie knows I was here; you probably don't want the other two to know as well."

"No, not really."

He quickly gets his shoes and jacket from her room before heading toward the door. "Thanks for this, Kate."

"No problem," she leans forward to kiss his cheek.

"Be careful. I don't want to have to visit you in the hospital later today."

"I'll be fine, Castle," she smiles and opens the door.

Ryan and Esposito are standing outside, the latter with his hand raised to knock on her door. They look between their two colleagues before looking at each other. Ryan smiles, "Trying to sneak away, Castle?"

"Guys," Beckett glares at them.

"Okay, you don't have to tell us now. But we want the details later, Castle," Esposito smiles.

"I really did not need to know that you guys share stories about the women you've been in bed with," she shakes her head at them.

"There are no details, guys. Sorry," Castle walks between them, heading to the elevator.

"You're trying to pull that one on us again?" Ryan calls.

"It's the truth."

"I guess it didn't include morning after shower sex," Esposito says, looking from Castle's disheveled appearance to Beckett's neat appearance.

"You guys are so immature," she rolls her eyes before grabbing a jacket and heading out. "Come on. We have bad guys to catch."

**CB**

Beckett steps out of the interrogation room and practically runs into Castle. "That's the guy?" he asks, looking behind her.

"Yes, I think it is. But Ashley couldn't positively identify him." He tries to step around her and go into the room. "Castle, you can't go in there," she moves so he can't get in.

"Why not? He shot my daughter, Kate," he finally looks at her as he goes to place his hands on her arms to move her out of the way. He freezes, his hands inches from her upper arms, as he notices the gauze wrapped around her right arm. "What happened? Did he shoot you too?"

"No. Well, he shot at us, and the bullet grazes my arm, but I'm fine."

He puts his hands on her shoulders, trying to move her aside, as anger fills him. "He's going to pay."

"Castle," she puts her hands on his chest to push him back, "he will pay. He's going to jail. Don't go in there and mess this up, or he won't pay for what he did."

"He tried to kill you. He tried to kill Alexis. I can't just let him go after that," he looks back down at her.

Kate gently pushes him back into the observation room, signaling to Ryan and Esposito to put their suspect back in holding. "Rick, listen to me. He's not going to get away with this. The gun is registered to him, and he has no alibi. Bring Alexis in to the precinct tomorrow, and we'll see if she can identify him. But he's not going to go free."

"But he deserves worse than jail. He needs to pay for what he did."

"You promised me you wouldn't interfere with the case, Castle. I know you're angry about this, but let me do my job. Your job is to take care of Alexis."

He sighs, calming down now that the suspect was not in his line of sight. "I know that I should trust you, trust the system. But I just feel that sometimes it's flawed. Now that it's become personal for me. He shot my little girl; how does going to jail compare to that? And he won't even be going for very long since she isn't dead."

"Castle, I will do everything I can to get the guy the maximum sentence possible. Robbery, attempted murder, evading arrest, shooting an officer… and anything else I can pin on him."

He nods, "I know you will. But sometimes it doesn't feel like enough. Didn't you ever want to do more to punish the man who killed your mother, Kate? Didn't you ever think that jail was too lenient for what he had done?"

Kate looks into his eyes, contemplating this for a moment. "Yes," she finally admits. "But you have to know that I didn't kill him because he shot my mother. I killed him to save you. Had the situation been different, I would have let him rot in jail for what he had done."

"Thank you… for telling me the truth. And for shooting him to save me. I appreciate you giving up the information he had about your mother's murder to keep me alive."

"You were worth it," she whispers. "And hopefully one day you'll be able to help me find the guys the ordered the hit on her. Besides… I couldn't let Alexis be raised by Martha and Meredith."

Rick opens his arms, hoping she would return the hug even though they were at work. She hesitates for a moment before wrapping her arms around him.

"You really should get back to Alexis. I've got some things to finish up here and then I'll come visit."

"Can I… wait for you and we can go together? She was sleeping when I left. And I'll be on my best behavior."

"Fine… but only because I've been deprived of my coffee all day."

He smiles, "I can take care of that."

**A/N: Decided to update a little early. Because of all of the reviews... or because I have no clue if I'll have internet tomorrow. It's acting up. And the power went out a few times today. Don't know if it's like overloaded because everyone is back on campus after break or whether everyone is just on the internet right now since the quarter just started and people aren't doing homework tonight. Hopefully it's not the former or I will die if I have to go through this like three more times this year. So I'm thinking I'll read a chapter of Harry Potter and then go to bed because I can't concentrate on zoology right now, and I don't have that class tomorrow. Anyway, keep the reviews coming. Thanks. More at the end of the week. Four chapter to go.**


	8. Healing

**Chapter 8: Healing**

_I'm ready now_

_I'm ready now_

_I'm ready now_

_I'm ready now_

Castle stares at her until she finally acknowledges him. "What?" she sighs.

"Can I see your arm?"

"Why?"

"Because I want to. Shouldn't you have gone to the hospital or something to get it looked at?"

"The paramedics said I didn't have to."

"You didn't bribe them into saying that?"

"No… they said it would be better for a doctor to look at it, but I could do without that."

"Did you mention that you gave blood yesterday? Maybe you should have gotten a transfusion."

"It really wasn't that much blood, Castle. It was just a flesh wound."

"It was enough to make you change your shirt."

"You can see it later, Castle. Right now I've got to finish this so we can get back to Alexis."

He falls silent, relaxing back in his chair, while she finishes the paperwork from the incident this morning. Eventually he gets up, going over to talk with Ryan and Esposito so that she could finish. "Hey, guys."

"Hi. Alexis doing okay?"

"Yes."

"Did Beckett tell you about her arm?"

"She said it was just a flesh wound."

"Yeah… but the paramedics thought she probably needed some stitches. She refused to go to the hospital though."

Castle looks over at his muse for a moment before turning back to the detectives, "She doesn't like needles. But don't tell her that I told you that."

"Okay, as long as you don't tell her that we told you that she needs to get her arm looked at by a doctor," Esposito compromises.

"She said she didn't lose much blood. Is that true?"

"It was a decent amount. But she should be okay."

"Even though she gave blood yesterday for a transfusion for Alexis?"

The two detectives look at each other. "If she hasn't felt the effects of the blood loss yet, she should be fine."

"Wait, didn't you just say she doesn't like needles? Why would she give blood?" Ryan asks, confused.

"For Alexis. They didn't have any type O blood left at the hospital; they would have had to have it brought over from another hospital. But she volunteered her blood."

"Oh… And this morning?"

"Nothing happened. I just didn't want to be alone after almost losing my daughter."

"So you really have no details for us?"

"Sorry."

"You mean you seriously didn't sneak any peeks while she was showering or dressing or anything?"

"No, I was still asleep. And knowing her, she probably locked the bathroom door."

While the boys were talking, Kate had finished her paperwork and had wandered over to join them without them noticing. Upon hearing that they were talking about her again, she smacks both Ryan and Esposito in the back of the head, "I thought you two had girlfriends."

"We do," Esposito says slowly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Then why are you asking Castle about me?"

"Because… we're guys. That's what we do."

She glares at them, "Come on, Castle. Let's go."

"How come you didn't hit him?" Ryan protests as Castle stands up.

"Because he didn't tell you anything."

"Wait, you lied to us, Castle? You saw stuff and didn't tell us?"

"No, I didn't really see much. But she is a very good cuddler," he smirks over his shoulder at them as he and his detective leave the precinct, leaving the other two with shocked looks on their faces.

**CB**

"What are we doing here?" Kate asks as they stop by the nurses' station.

"I have a question for them," he tells her before turning to the nurse behind the counter. "Hi. My friend here, Detective Beckett, was hurt this morning. I was wondering if you could look at her wound. She told the paramedics she didn't want to come to the hospital, but I just wanted to make sure that she didn't need stitches or anything."

"Sure, Mr. Castle," the nurse smiles, coming around the counter. She shoots him a glare before taking her jacket off for the nurse, who gently unwraps the gauze and studies the wound. Castle eagerly looks over the nurse's shoulder. "Well, it probably could have used stitches, but since the bleeding stopped, it isn't necessary. It would have healed better with stitches, but you'll just have a more distinct scar there."

"Thank you," he smiles at the nurse.

"If you want to go check on your daughter, Mr. Castle, I can take care of Detective Beckett's arm and then show her where your daughter's room is," she offers.

"Okay. As long as there aren't any needles involved."

"Nope. Just some cream to help it heal and bandages."

"Thank you. See you in a few minutes, Kate," he heads off down the hall, leaving her alone with the nurse.

"So you're the one the books are based off of?"

"Yeah," she says with a sigh.

"I would've thought you'd be happier to have a man like that following you around."

"He has his moments. But mostly he's just annoying," she gives the nurse a small smile.

"Well, he may be flawed, but he certainly does care about you." The nurse bandages her arm up before leading her down the hall that Castle had disappeared into.

"Kate?" a voice calls from behind her.

She turns around to see who it is. "Josh, hi."

"I'll leave you alone. Mr. Castle's daughter is just down there on the left," the nurse points to a door before leaving.

"What brings you here, Kate?" Josh asks as he walks up to her.

"Castle's daughter was shot the other day."

"Oh, I think I heard about that. Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine now."

"Did you catch the guy?" he asks, indicating the fresh bandage on her arm.

"We think so, but we need her to come in and identify him."

"And you're okay?"

"I'm fine. It just stings a little."

"Kate… about the other night… I'm really sorry. I was a jerk. You always understood when I was a little late because of work, and I should have extended the courtesy."

"Don't worry about it, Josh."

"So do you want to… get dinner with me later?"

"Actually I… You're a great guy, Josh. Really. But…"

"There's someone else?" he looks off in the direction of Alexis's room.

"…Yeah," she admits. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I understand; I missed my chance. I messed up." He rests a hand on her shoulder, "He makes you happy, Kate. I can see that. I'm not going to stop you from being happy with him."

"Thank you, Josh. For everything. I… enjoyed getting to know you."

"Me too, Kate," he leans forward to kiss her cheek. "See you around. But hopefully not on my operating table."

"I'll try to avoid that," she smiles before turning toward Alexis's room. She is surprised to see Castle standing outside of it, watching her. "Hey," she says quietly when she is close to him.

He stares at her for a moment, "Hey."

"About what just happened…" she begins, deducing from his behavior that he had seen them together.

"I get it. He apologized, and now you want to take him back. Go ahead. I was just your rebound," he looks down at the ground sadly.

"Castle, that's not it. Yes, he apologized, but I told him I wasn't interested. You're it, Rick. You're the one that I want to be with," she gently tucks a hand under his chin, forcing him to look up at her.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure? Because I think you'd kill me if I kissed you in public, even if it was just on the cheek."

"Castle, that's different. You're famous. And I don't really want everyone to know that we're together. So, yes, I would kill you if you kissed me in public. But… there will eventually be a day when you can kiss me, and I won't care who sees it."

"Really?" he grins mischievously at her.

"Yes. I mean, as long as you're not trying to make out with me in public or something. 'Cause that's a little too much."

**A/N: Three chapters to go. I'll put one up early next week. It was a long day of classes today... not so fun. And lots of zoology to do over the weekend. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please review. They'll cheer me up because zoology is kind of depressing... and hard to understand from the book. And I'll try to reply this time... I've gotten bad about that.**


	9. Bickering

**Chapter 9: Bickering**

_I'm ready now_

_I'm ready now_

_I'm ready now_

"Hi," Kate smiles as she walks into Alexis's room.

"Hey. Dad just went to get some lunch for us."

"Yeah, I saw him as he was leaving. Aren't they feeding you?"

"Yeah… but hospital food is horrible."

She smirks, "Yes, I remember that."

"So are you okay? Dad said you got shot arresting the guy this morning," Alexis looks worriedly at the detective.

"I'm fine. It was just a flesh wound," she indicates the bandage on her arm. "It stings, but it's nothing like what happened to you."

"You did arrest him?"

"Yes. But we don't have enough evidence to get him for the robbery or shooting you. So I'm going to need you to come down to the precinct and look at a line up when you feel up to it."

"Ashley…"

"He tried. But I think he's still a little traumatized from the whole situation so he couldn't identify him."

"Okay. I'll have Dad bring me by tomorrow when they release me."

"Okay."

"He's not going to go free before then?"

"No, he won't be going free for some time, even if he didn't shoot you."

"Right… he shot you."

"Yes. But we want him behind bars for the longest amount of time possible, especially if he's the one that shot you."

"Dad… didn't do anything stupid, did he?"

"No. He wanted to. I stopped him. But we may have to restrain him tomorrow if you can correctly identify this guy."

"You could use your handcuffs on him. I don't think he'd put up too much of a fight," Alexis smiles.

"If I handcuff him to Esposito, nothing would happen to him, and he couldn't do anything to our suspect to obstruct the investigation."

"He'd like it better if he was handcuffed to you."

"Yes, well if I do that, he might not let me take the handcuffs off."

"Yeah, you have a point."

Kate sits down in the chair at the side of the bed, "So how are you feeling?"

"Okay. It kind of hurts now that I'm not on such a strong painkiller. But I can manage."

"Ashley came to see you?"

"Yeah, right before you and Dad got here." She nods to the table beside the bed, where there is a bouquet of flowers and a teddy bear. "He brought those."

"They're nice," she smiles.

"So… Dad stayed with you last night?" she asks, hoping the detective wouldn't get angry with her.

"Yeah… he didn't want to be alone, and I couldn't exactly blame him for that."

"Thanks for taking care of him."

"It was not a problem," Kate says, hesitating as she tries to decide whether or not to tell Alexis about their discussion the previous evening. "Alexis, you're father and I -"

The door opens and Castle walks in, "I brought your favorite."

"Thanks, Dad," she says as she takes one of the bags from him.

He hands Kate a carton of Chinese food from the other bag before sitting in the chair beside her. She looks expectantly at him, waiting for her chopsticks. "What?" he asks when he notices her.

"Chopsticks?"

"Oh," he looks back in the bag and pulls out silverware. "Sorry… just forks."

"You forgot to specify that you wanted one set of chopsticks and one set of silverware."

"… Maybe. Can't you just be like a normal American and eat Chinese with a fork?"

"No."

He shakes his head at her, "Well I'm not going back to get your chopsticks."

"Castle."

"Beckett."

Alexis watches the two, thoroughly entertained, before deciding it best to intervene before one of them got hurt, "I have a pair of chopsticks, Detective Beckett. You can have them. Dad never gets them for us so I don't know how to use them."

"Thank you," she glares at the writer for a few more seconds before smiling at Alexis.

"So what were you saying before Dad came back?"

"Well…" she looks toward Castle, "your father and I…"

Rick smiles at her nervousness; he already knew how excited Alexis would be at the news, but he liked to see the normally smooth-talking detective at a loss for words. "She said yes."

Alexis frowns, "Yes to what?"

"When I asked her out."

The teenager is about to voice her excitement, but Kate opens her mouth first. "You never asked me out, Castle."

"Not technically but… it's the same thing."

"Is not. I said that I would give you another chance."

"It is too the same thing."

"Is not," she shakes her head.

"Is so."

"Guys," Alexis says, interrupting their argument again. "You just ended one big argument. You really don't have to continue fighting with each other over such petty things."

"Sorry," he apologizes.

She rolls her eyes at him, "Whatever, Castle."

The three talk for hours until Kate decides that she better head home. "I'm getting kind of tired. I'll see you two tomorrow," she smiles, heading to the door.

"Bye, Detective Beckett," Alexis says. As she looks at her father, she realizes he is torn between spending time with her and following Kate. "Go ahead, Dad. I'll watch TV for a little bit before going to bed. And visiting hours end soon."

"You're sure it's okay?"

"Yes, it's fine, Dad. Besides, you won't be able to go into work with her the next few days since you'll have to take care of me."

"Okay. See you bright and early in the morning," he kisses her forehead.

"Night, Dad."

Castle quickly follows the detective out of the hospital. "Kate," he calls as she reaches her car.

"Castle? What do you need?"

"Do you… want to go back to my place with me tonight?"

"Isn't your mother there?"

"Yes. But it's not like we'll be doing anything. Unless you have other ideas…"

She shakes her head, "Shouldn't you stay here with Alexis?"

"Visiting hours are almost over. And she said I could go after you if I wanted. So… what do you think?"

Sighing, Kate nods, "Okay. But I'm not making breakfast for you in the morning."

"Alright. Maybe I'll make you breakfast."

"You have to get up early to do that, Castle. I have work. And I can't imagine you waking up earlier than absolutely necessary."

"I'm up to follow you every morning," he points out.

"Okay, I'll give you that one. But I get up at six. So if you want it to be a surprise… Plus I have to get up early so I can go home and shower."

"Or you could shower at my place."

"I don't think so. You really don't need to have anything to tell the boys."

"I won't share anything with them. Especially about you."

"Why especially about me?"

"Because… you're their boss, and it's a little creepy to share some of those things about you; they really don't need to know everything. Second, you'd kill me if I told them anything. And third, I really care about you, Kate; I don't want to share private information with them."

"Funny. You're sharing private information with the whole world, yet you don't want to share it with Ryan and Esposito."

"Kate, what I wrote isn't all true. Or at least some of those… finer details I didn't know were true."

Kate looks away from him, "I don't want you to participate in those conversations with them again. Even just to listen to those two talk about their girlfriends. I thought… that the three of you had more respect for women than that."

"Okay. I won't. But I want you to keep opening up to me, Kate." When she opens her mouth to protest, he presses a finger to her lips to keep her quiet. "I know it's difficult for you, but all I'm asking is that you try. Like about not wanting me to participate in the conversations with the guys… that's a good start. If you have a problem with anything at all – anything, from what's in the books to publicity to me leaving dirty clothes all over my floor – talk to me. Let me know. I want to try to fix things before they build up and create a big problem for us."

"Do you really leave dirty clothes all over you floor?" she asks, frowning at him.

"No. Not most of the time. There may be some there now because I was kind of in a hurry this morning to get back to the hospital, but I'll pick them up."

"Okay, Castle. I'll try to talk to you about… everything."

"Thanks," he looks around them before leaning forward to press his lips to her temple.

"Don't you remember what I said earlier?"

"Yes. That's why I made sure no one was around."

She rolls her eyes at him for the hundredth time that day, "Consider this your warning. And if I see any pictures of us together on the internet or in magazines before I'm ready for that, you're going to pay."

"I'll be on my best behavior, Detective."

**A/N: Can't wait for tonight's episode. Or January. Although my roommate is currently here and she is never here when I watch TV so it might be kind of weird. Anyway, two chapters left to go. I have to get back to work so I can actually watch it. Please keep the reviews coming.**


	10. Arresting

**Chapter 10: Arresting**

_Someone like you_

_Somebody_

_Someone like you_

_Somebody_

_Someone like you_

_Somebody_

"Forensics just sent this over," Ryan hands her a print out.

"Only his fingerprints on the weapon. That's a good sign."

"Yes. And his alibi didn't check out. I think we've got a pretty good case against him even if Alexis can't identify him."

She nods, "I want more though, especially if she can't ID him. We have to make sure there's no way he can get off."

"You want to talk to him about his alibi or wait until after Alexis comes?"

"Wait. They should be here soon," Kate says, and as soon as the words leave her mouth, the elevator doors open, revealing Castle and his daughter.

"Good morning, Detectives," Castle smiles, handing them each a cup of coffee before turning to Esposito's desk to give him his.

"We'll get the line up ready," Ryan says, and he and his partner head down the hall.

Castle nudges Alexis, and she sits down in his chair. "So how are you feeling today?" Kate asks.

"Good. It hurts a little to move around."

"I'm sure you can lay in bed all day when you leave here. And then you can annoy your dad by making him bring you everything you want."

"Actually, I'm probably going to try to do homework. I didn't get much of it done Saturday, plus Dad won't let me go to school until Wednesday so I have to catch up on everything I miss."

"You were shot, Alexis. I think the teachers will give you time to make everything up."

"Yes… but if I get behind now, I'll be behind the rest of the quarter."

Castle looks at Beckett, "I tried to bribe her with something fun. Like a movie marathon. Or games. But she wouldn't give in."

"I'm beginning to wonder if she's actually related to you, Castle," she smirks at him.

"I don't know. That thought has crossed my mind more than once," he admits. "Meredith was a little…"

"You guys do realize that I'm still sitting here?" Alexis says.

"Of course," he smiles at her. "And she is mine. I did one of those DNA tests when she was little to make sure."

Ryan signals that they are ready, and Kate stands. Alexis also stands up and follows the detective, Castle right behind them. Outside the room, Beckett freezes. "Castle…"

"What?" he studies her.

"I… can't have you in there."

"Why not?"

"Because… you saw the guy yesterday, Castle. I can't have you in there to tell her which one it is."

"I can keep my mouth shut," he protests.

"I'm sorry, Castle."

"Dad, I'll be fine. It'll only take a second," Alexis assures him.

"Fine," he gives in, trusting that Kate would take care of his daughter.

Kate opens the door for Alexis, "Ryan?"

"Yes, Beckett?"

"Go sit with Castle and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I can handle things in here."

"Okay," he heads out the door.

Beckett goes to stand next to Alexis by the window. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

She knocks on the window, Esposito leads the suspects in. "Take your time."

The suspects no sooner reach their positions when Alexis grabs Kate's arm. "I know who it is. Number two."

"You're sure? Don't you want to look at them more closely?"

"No, I'm positive," the teenager looks at the detective.

"Okay," she knocks on the window again before leading Alexis out.

Castle is seated in her chair, talking to Ryan. She looks between the two of them, observing their guilty faces. "We weren't talking about you," he tries to assure her.

"Really?"

"Yeah, we were talking about Jenny," Ryan offers.

"And not in the way that you think," Castle quickly adds.

"Dad," Alexis scolds.

Kate is still glaring at him. "What? I'm not lying. I swear," he tries to defend himself.

"You're still sitting in my chair."

"Oh, sorry," he quickly jumps up. "So how did it go?"

"She got him."

"So now what?"

"We interrogate him again. And then he goes to booking."

"Hey, Beckett?" She turns to face Ryan. "Montgomery wanted us to tell you that you don't have to stay here today. He'd give you the day off if you wanted. Esposito and I can handle interrogating this guy again."

Kate looks towards Castle and Alexis for a moment before turning back to the detective. "We don't have any cases?"

"Nope."

"Okay," she pulls her jacket off of her chair. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Esposito walks over to them as she puts her jacket on, "You're leaving?"

"Yes."

"Wow. I didn't think you'd take the offer."

"Yeah, well… I don't think you two can mess this interrogation up too badly."

"Before I forget," Castle pulls his wallet out and hands each of the boys a gift card, "I wanted to thank you guys for finding the man that shot my daughter. So… take your girlfriends out for dinner this week on me."

"Wow, Castle. Thanks," Ryan smiles.

"You do know that that is our job?" Esposito asks.

"Yes. And thank you for being so good at it," he smiles at the two detectives before following his daughter and Kate to the elevator.

"Dad, you didn't thank Detective Beckett," Alexis points out.

"That's okay. She didn't do very much anyway." She rolls her eyes and smacks him on the shoulder.

"Dad," the teenager says in a warning tone.

He sighs, "Thank you, Kate."

"Are you going to spend the night again, Detective Beckett? 'Cause I was thinking that homework could wait if you were. We could play games or something all together."

The detective looks from Alexis to Castle, "Did you…?" He shakes his head.

"Oh, sorry. Gram told me. I guess… you probably didn't want me to know that."

"She saw us?"

"I guess we weren't as sneaky as we thought."

"Yes, I did stay last night, but nothing happened."

"It's okay. You're both adults. I understand."

Rick frowns at his daughter, "Alexis, can we please not talk about this? For your sake and mine, I think it's best we not discuss this. I still like to think of you as my little girl."

"Okay, Dad. But I'm not very little anymore."

"Yeah, Castle. She has a boyfriend now," she smirks at him.

"Please don't remind me."

"So, Detective Beckett?"

"Okay. But only if you start calling me Kate."

"Really?"

She nods, "Since your father and I are together, you should call me Kate."

"How come you won't let me call you Kate?"

"What are you talking about, Castle? You call me Kate all the time even though I never really told you that you could."

"Oh…" he frowns. "I guess I have called you Kate a lot lately."

The detective and Alexis looks at each before rolling their eyes. "Really, Dad. You're so clueless sometimes."

"Am not."

"Are too, Castle."

"If I call you Kate, you should call me Rick."

"I prefer Castle. Especially when you're being annoying."

**CB**

Martha is seated at the island in the kitchen when the three enter the loft. "Hello," she smiles at Alexis as she stands to hug her. "So how'd it go?"

"Good. I recognized him."

"Mother?" Castle says.

"Yes, Richard, dear?"

"Did you tell Alexis that Kate spent the night here?"

"Yes." He raises an eyebrow. "What? Doesn't she have a right to know what her father is up?"

"Mother."

"I'm sorry, Richard. I shouldn't have walked into your bedroom this morning. But it's not like you and Kate are dating, especially since you were both clothed in bed this morning."

Kate and Rick look at each other. "Actually… we kind of are."

"Oh, that's wonderful. Welcome to the family, Kate," his mother hugs her.

"Really, Martha, we haven't even gone out yet. I think it's a little soon for that," Kate says.

"Trust me, kiddo. I've never seen Richard this in love before. You're going to be part of the family."

"Mother," he warns. "Kate, I'm sorry about this."

"It's okay."

"Well, I have to get to rehearsal. I got a call this morning, and they want me to take the part after all."

"Congratulations, Mother," he hugs her.

"Yes, and since it seems that Alexis is doing alright, I told them I'd take it. Although… I'm not sure she should be alone with the two of you."

"Gram, they'll behave," Alexis says.

"I'm sure Kate will. It's your father that I'm worried about."

"Mother."

"I'm going, I'm going. Just make sure you get to the bedroom and close your door. I promise I won't intrude this time," she says as she closes the door behind her.

Now that his mother is gone, Rick looks over at Kate and notices her apprehensive expression. "Alexis, why don't you go pick out a game for us to play," he says, stepping closer to the detective. Once his daughter is gone, he rests a hand on her arm. "You okay?"

"Yeah…"

"I'm sorry about her."

"You don't have to apologize, Rick."

"I don't want you to feel pressured into anything, Kate. You don't have to stay tonight if you would rather not."

"No… I like it here. I've just… forgotten what parents can be like."

"If it would make you more comfortable, I could buy her her own apartment."

"You don't have to do that. We'll just… be spending more time at my apartment I guess when things get more serious."

"You're sure everything's okay for now?"

"Yes."

He leans forward to kiss her cheek, but she backs away the moment his lips touch her skin. As he opens his mouth to ask her what is wrong, he realizes his daughter has returned.

"Am I interrupting?" she asks.

"No, of course not," Kate smiles.

"Are you sure? 'Cause I can go up to my room and do homework and put my headphones in if you guys want some alone time."

"No, Alexis, we want to spend time with you."

"Okay. Well, I brought Clue, but I don't know whether you guys would want to try to solve another mystery. So I also grabbed Monopoly."

"If you want to play Clue, we can play Clue," Kate says, sitting down at the table across from her.

"Okay. But you and Dad can't work together even though he's not very good at this game."

"Hey, you're not supposed to tell her that," Castle says, joining them after getting some water.

"Sorry, Dad, but it's true. I guess this game is just too simple for your creativity."

**A/N: So this and the last chapter were originally combined, but when it was almost at five thousand words I decided to split it up. Anyway... I've had a very busy week so I didn't have time to reply to reviews so thanks to all of you. I found out I was in the wrong stats class... or rather one that I already had credit for. The pharmacy department didn't realize that AP stats gave me credit for this class so I just got moved to the next one up, which I really don't need. But I'm now considering a stats minor since it'd only be three extra classes and I have room for two of them in my schedule for the next five years. I have to decide if I want to overload to get the last one in or take some gen eds over the summer or something. Plus my advisor must be really sick or something 'cause she hasn't been here since the end of October so I might not get that done until after break. Well... hope you enjoyed this chapter. The last one will probably be up mid next week.**


	11. Kissing

**Chapter 11: Kissing**

_I've been roaming around_

_I was looking down at all I see_

Castle sits down on the couch and tugs her hand, trying to pull her onto his lap.

"Rick… what if Alexis comes down? Or your mother comes home?"

"Mother won't be home for at least another hour. And I'm pretty sure Alexis would have to be dying to come back down here since she knows we're together," he tugs on her hand again, and this time she concedes.

"About that…"

"Are you having second thoughts?"

She shakes her head before resting it against his shoulder, "It's just… I'm not ready for the whole world to know."

"Okay. We can wait. Nobody at the precinct knows yet, and I know Alexis would never tell. Mother… well, she gets a little excited about things, but I don't think she would ever tell. She knows you; she knows that you like your privacy."

"Apparently there's no such thing as privacy in your house," she smiles softly, but he can't see it until he tucks her hair behind her ear.

"Not exactly. But I haven't really had any of my girlfriends over in a while. They'll get used to it after a bit and give us more privacy."

"Gina?"

"We weren't really over here that much during the last few months of our relationship." He takes her hand in his, "And just because we don't get much privacy here doesn't mean that the paparazzi are going to be after us all the time."

She looks him in the eye for a moment before looking down at their hands, "You can't tell me that they aren't going to find us if we go out in public. And I'm sure they wouldn't pass up a story on an author dating his muse."

"Kate, you're more than my muse. I love you," he whispers.

Her gaze remains fixed on their hands for a few moments before she finally looks up at him, "I love you too, Rick."

Castle leans forward, closing his eyes as their lips meet. The instant their lips meet he knows that he could spend the rest of his life kissing her. One of his arms snakes around her waist while his other hand tangles in her hair. She rests a hand on his shoulder, placing the other on his cheek. Eventually she pulls back, resting her forehead against his, her eyes still closed. They are both breathing deeply. "Kate… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"It's fine," she whispers. "I just… don't know how we're going to stop."

He smiles, "We don't have to."

Surprisingly she doesn't hit him. "We have to, Rick. We will get there eventually, but it's just not right yet. Not three days after having a big argument. Or two days after your daughter gets shot or two days after we revealed our feelings for one another."

"Okay," he presses his lips to hers again. "You're right. We can wait. I want to do things right, Kate. I don't think I've ever felt so in love before."

"Things will be fine. Just be patient," she pulls him in for another kiss.

"It's kind of hard to be patient when we keep doing that," he whispers, his lips moving to her neck.

Before she can respond, she hears footsteps on the stairs and tenses. He feels her tense but doesn't stop, thinking it's because she is trying not to give in to him. "Rick," she whispers, placing a hand on his chest to push him back.

"Yes, Kate?" he says, leaning up to kiss her again.

"Dad! Seriously. Can't you get a room?" Alexis asks, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Sorry," Castle frowns at his daughter. "Is something wrong, dear?"

"I forgot to take my medicine. So I'll just grab that and go back upstairs…" she heads to the kitchen hurriedly to grab the pill container from the counter.

"Good night." He turns back to his detective once his daughter is back upstairs. She is glaring at him. "Okay, I get it. Not tonight."

"I'm sorry, Rick."

"There's nothing to be sorry about," he studies her neck, hoping he didn't leave a mark on her. As he does so, he notices a scar on her shoulder where he had adjusted her shirt to get to her neck. He gently traces it with his finger.

"That's… where I was shot."

"Oh…" he says softly. "And the knife wound?"

Kate looks into his eyes for a moment before unbuttoning her shirt where it covered her stomach. She pulls it aside to show him the jagged scar two inches to the right of her belly button.

He traces this one with his fingers too. "I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything, Castle."

"Nothing has happened yet. But… I never listen to you. And… next time it could cost you your life. So… I'm sorry for all of the danger I've put you in. I'll listen to you from now on."

"If I would have known that that is all I had to do to get you to listen to me, I would have shown you my scars sooner," she smiles.

"Maybe we should head to bed," he kisses her again. "Unless you want to go home because you don't trust that I can keep my hands off of you all night long."

"You don't have to keep them off of me completely," she stands, taking his hands in hers. "Just not where you really want to put them."

"Did I ever tell you how much of a tease you are?"

"Yes."

"And extraordinary?"

"Yes."

"And beautiful?"

"Hm… don't think I've heard that one before, at least not from you."

"Well, it's true."

"Any more adjectives?"

"Plenty."

"Are you going to share them?"

"Not yet. I mean, if I'm going to spend every day with you for the rest of my life, I have to save something."

"Okay… one adjective a day, Castle."

"Or what?" he challenges. "I mean, there are only so many adjectives to describe you. I wouldn't want to insult you or anything by saying one that's not true."

"Or… you owe me."

"Owe you what?"

"I don't know. I haven't figured it out yet. And you are a writer, Castle. You should have a good vocabulary. Which will give me time to think of something as punishment."

"You could always handcuff me."

She eyes him for a moment before shaking her head, "You'd like that too much."

"Not if you left me all alone after handcuffing me. Actually, I wouldn't like it very much if you handcuffed me… and stayed there. Then I couldn't touch you."

"Isn't that the point of handcuffs?"

"No, Detective, they're for catching criminals."

Kate rolls her eyes, "So are we ever going to bed, Castle? You do have to get up and take care of your daughter tomorrow."

He smiles and tugs on her hands to lead her down the hall, "Why, Detective, you seem awfully eager to get to bed."

"Don't get your hopes up, Castle."

"If you keep doing that, I'm not going to let you use me as a pillow."

"Then you're going to be waiting an awfully long time for what you really want…" she threatens with a small smirk.

"Somehow I don't think you're really going to be able to resist me that long."

"A little… arrogant, Castle?"

"I, uh… think you could use a different adjective for that."

She shakes her head, "Nope."

"You know… we could reverse the game too. You have to give me an adjective every day."

"I'm not the writer."

"No… but you read a lot."

"You're just afraid of losing."

"Am not."

"Are to."

"No, I'm not."

"Castle, I'm not playing this game with you. If you want to be immature, go sleep on the couch."

"I'm not immature. I'll even show you how mature I can be," he pulls her in for a kiss, his hand tangling in her hair. His other hand slips under the hem of her shirt to draw circles on her back.

She pulls back, "That's not going to convince me to give in, Castle."

"Alright, I'm out of ideas. Or at least ones that wouldn't end in me getting shot."

"Good. Now can we go to sleep?"

"Yes," he lays down and lets her get comfortable beside him before turning the lamp on his nightstand off. "Night, Kate."

"Castle."

He remains silent, thinking for a few moments before finally speaking again. "Kate?"

"What now, Castle?" she sighs.

"If we ever get married, would you change your name?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"First off, Kate Castle just doesn't sound good. Second, I do not want everyone to ask whether I'm related to you when I introduce myself. Third, you're too embarrassing for me to ever want anyone to know that I'm associated with you. And… I'm sure if we do actually get married, publicity will make things bad enough for me as it is without me changing my name."

"A simple 'I just don't want to' would have been fine."

"So you don't have a problem with it?"

He shrugs, "Not really. It's your choice. And I understand your reasons for not wanting to change it. Except for the one about being embarrassed by me. If I'm really that embarrassing, you wouldn't go out in public with me."

"And I really don't want to. I don't want to become… famous or… be followed by paparazzi or crazy fans. But… I guess that's what comes with dating a famous author. And being his muse."

"Thank you, Kate, for trying to be accepting of this. I know you don't like it."

"Why are you thanking me, Castle? I might not be so accepting of it when they figure out that we're together."

He laughs, "Probably not. But I'm going to do my best to hold them off until you're ready for everyone to know."

"That will be never," she adjust herself slightly to get more comfortable, and her bare foot brushes against his leg.

He practically jumps away from her, "Put some socks on, Kate. Your feet are freezing."

"They are not."

"Are too."

"I don't wear socks to bed. They just come off."

He tucks a hand under her chin, making her look up at him. "You'd think that all the quirky little things you learn about a person would make you like them less, but somehow the more I learn about you, the more I love you."

"Still not getting lucky, Castle," she whispers before their lips meet.

"Well, I guess we might as well go to sleep now. That was my last idea."

"You could always just ask for what you want, Castle," she suggests, settling her head back down on his chest.

"Kate, would you please –"

"Nope."

"If you weren't going to give in, why did you suggest it?"

"Because… it's funny to see you try so hard. Besides, your mother will probably be home soon, and your daughter's bedroom is right above us."

"Is there a… biological reason you won't sleep with me?"

It takes her a moment to get what he was talking about, "No, Castle."

"Sorry. It's kind of hard to tell with you since you're always in a bad mood."

She smacks him in the chest. "You know, maybe I will go home," she tries to sit up, but he keeps his arms around her waist, not letting her go.

"Please stay. I promise to behave."

Kate stares at him for a moment before giving in and settling back down at his side. "Okay. But only because I don't want to run into your mother on the way out."

"So… would you at least tell me why you won't? I'm not going to try to change your mind anymore. At least not tonight."

"Because… we just got together two nights ago, Castle. And we haven't gone out on a real date yet. And… I don't want to be one of your conquests. I want to be sure that you're not going to leave as soon as I give in."

"I won't, Kate. If all I wanted was to get in bed with you, I would have stopped following you a long time ago. You mean so much to me." Suddenly he freezes, thinking back to her words. "You're the flighty one. Should I be worried about you leaving me?"

"No. You're the one that left last summer."

"I'm sorry, Kate. And we will be going this summer. But I'm going to drag you with me this time."

"Castle, I can't not go to work all summer long."

"Not all summer. From Memorial Day through Fourth of July. A little more than a month."

"I still can't take a month off."

"Then come for a week and go back to work for the next couple weeks before coming back until after Fourth of July."

She sighs, "Montgomery isn't going to like it."

"I'll talk to the mayor about it and get it approved."

"Castle…"

"Did you want to thank me?"

"Not really."

"Well, you could always quit. I make tons of money. And Nikki Heat seems pretty popular so it'll keep coming in."

"Not an option."

"Okay. I didn't really think you'd go for it, but I had to offer."

"Castle, can we go to sleep now?"

"Where would the fun in that be?"

"Well… I have work tomorrow. And if you aren't good, I will make sure I'm as loud as possible when I get up tomorrow morning."

He frowns, "You are no fun. I like to sleep in."

"Does that have anything to do with the fact that you stay up all night?"

"Yes. But I'm writing, not doing whatever it is that you think I am."

"Oh, so I'm the only woman that you keep up all night just to annoy?"

"Pretty much," he smiles.

"Well, that makes me feel so special," she rolls her eyes.

"You are special."

"Go to sleep, Castle."

"Fine. Until tomorrow, Kate," he kisses the top of her head.

"Night, Castle." Kate closes her eyes and tries to fall asleep, but Castle, who is not tired, watches her. "Quit staring," she mumbles after a few moments; she could feel his gaze on her even though she hadn't opened her eyes.

"Sorry," he says but doesn't look away from her. Sighing at him for not listening to her yet again, she chooses to ignore this creepy side of him as she lets unconsciousness take over.

**A/N: Hope you guys liked it. I have three one chapter storied finished. I'll try to post the first one next week sometime. Hopefully I can get some writing done over break. Thanks to all of you that read and espeically those that took the time to review.**


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